Under My Skin
by CuddleMeCozy
Summary: The return to Puckworld hasn't gone as Mallory had hoped. MM/D


I don't own the Mighty Ducks

Under My Skin

Victoria's wedding would be perfect! Everything was in perfect order, now all that was needed was for the ceremony to happen! Mallory gave an exasperated sigh and fell back on the couch in the bridesmaids dressing room. She had only been back on Puckworld for four months and already her life was so busy she could barely keep up. When the Mighty Ducks returned they were kept a secret, the government wanted to make a big reveal at a more appropriate time but she saw most of them every week, all except one… Duke.

The day after they had returned, he disappeared in the night. No one knew what happened to him. Wildwing tried to track him but it was no used, even Tanya with all her expertise in all things technology couldn't find him. Mallory had been furious. Two weeks and still he hadn't returned, she went from angry to worried. Three months and he still hadn't come back; she went from worried to heartbroken. Even though they never spoke about it or announced it, she and Duke had gotten over their differences. They grew close on Earth and she didn't know how or when it happened but she came to care for him as more than a friend. He had somehow gotten under her skin and made a permanent home for himself. She tried to act the same but he seemed to know something was off. It went on like this until one night there was a knock at her door, she opened to find Duke standing there soaking wet a couple of cuts on his face.

Flashback:

"Duke what happened?" She gasped and pulled him into her room, sitting him down on the couch, she ran to her bathroom and grabbed her first aid kit under the sink. Throwing a towel over her shoulder she ran back out to see that Duke looked exhausted.

"Went out for a walk to clear my head. A young couple was attacked by some thugs and I intervened. Don't worry. You should see the thugs." He smirked but it melted off his face as soon as it had appeared. "I can't do this anymore." He spoke softly, sounding tired. His one good eye looking at the floor between his grey boots which were slowly making a puddle from his rain soaked clothes.

"What are you talking about?" She put the towel over his shoulders and opened the first aid kit, wiping off his cuts on his face, they were shallow so they would heal without leaving scars. Applying some antibacterial to them, she didn't see the way Duke had been watching her. As she moved her hand away his shot out to wrap around her wrist, making her gasp. "Duke?"

"I just…" He couldn't seem to find the words as he looked into her eyes, searching for something but he only saw confusion. "I'm tired Mallory. I'm tired of pretending."

He still hadn't let go of her wrist. "About what?" she questioned and he seemed to be considering something, judging the situation and possible outcomes.

Shaking his head as if he had been debating with himself, his eye now shined in determination. Mallory opened her month to speak but Duke beat her to it and kissed her before she could get a word out. At first she didn't know what to do as his hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close. Then her brain finally caught up with her and she kissed him back. Feeling her return the affection, Duke pressed harder into her then broke the kiss. "You're under my skin." He breathed, picking her up and carrying her to the bed. That night changed everything between them, that night they became lovers.

End Flashback:

The memory of the night used to fill her with joy but now it hurt to think of it. Mallory rubbed her temples, preparing for a wedding was making her think about what her plans had been when she came back to Puckworld. She thought they would start a life together, like they always talked about in the privacy of their rooms back on Earth.

The stinging sensation of tears tingled in the back of her eyes. No! She refused to cry about this anymore! He made his decision and it wasn't her! That's the end of it. She was dating a nice guy now anyway. Derek was a well to do business man with a heart of gold, he would never steal, he would never leave without telling her, he was the complete opposite of Duke… and he was soooo boring!

She sighed as she looked at the ceiling. There were times when she used to dream that Duke would sneak into her bedroom in the night, gently caress her face and body while she slept. She could have sworn that she even tasted his kiss but every time she woke up, she was alone and her heart broke a little more. So she stopped waiting for him to come back and started seeing other people, leading to the guy she was currently dating, Derek. Honestly after all this was done she was probably going to break up with him. She had been on so many dates and tried so many times but it was no use. There was no one that drew her to them like the suave thief did.

"Mallory! It's almost time!" Allison poked her head in. Mallory sat up and nodded. "By the way someone is here looking for you. Some guy."

"Oh what's his name?"

"He didn't say but he is very handsome." The brown haired duck smirked at Mallory. She was also one of the bridesmaids and another good friend of Mallory's.

"Okay. I'll be out in a second." She nodded and closed the door, letting Mallory fix up her hair. Her vibrate red hair had grown out passed her shoulders and was styled so that it hung down her back in curls with some side swept bangs. The bridesmaids dress was a light blue chiffon shoulderless dress that flowed when she walked. Her eye makeup matched the dress and her long lashes were curled up. Running her fingers through her hair to make sure it was in place, she slipped in her special hair pin that looked like a blue flower on the side of her hair, a finishing touch that all the bridesmaids wore. Another knock at the door announced someone wanted in. "Come in." She called out and watched as Derek's head peered around the door.

"Hey. Thought I'd stop by to see you." He closed it behind him.

"When did you get here?" Mallory asked, he is who Allison must have been talking about.

"Oh just a little bit ago. I was impatient to see you." He smiled winningly at her. He was dressed perfectly, everything was in order except for his bow, it was a little crocked.

"Your bow is off. Here let me help." She re-tied it and straightened it out for him.

While her back was to the door, it was opened again to reveal another man in more casual clothing. Derek looked up at him in question. "Can we help you?" Mallory looked up at Derek to see him looking behind her.

"Yah actually she can but not you." She frozen, knowing that Brooklyn accent anywhere.

"Duke?" She turned, slowly to see the very duck she had just been thinking about. "You're…."

"Back." He finished for her.

"Mallory? Who is he?" Derek asked, giving Duke a small glare but the drake was unaffected by it. If anything the one eyed drake only seemed to smirk more.

"Uh…" She wasn't sure what to say.

"The names Duke L'Orange but that doesn't matter. I just need to borrow Mal Mal for a moment. Mal, can we talk on the roof?" Mallory was speechless. He was alive and well and never bothered to drop a line or even call!

"I… You're… I mean…"

"It'll just take a moment Mal." Duke said.

Mallory finally nodded and looked at Derek. "I'll be right back." Before he could protest Mallory was following Duke out the door and up to the roof.

Duke held the roof door for her and she walked passed him, marching angrily to look out over the city. He sighed, she didn't even glance at him, not that he could blame her for being mad. Closing the door for privacy he walked up behind her, standing close. He could smell the light fresh scent of her hair. "Mallory." She turned suddenly and slapped him across the cheek snapping his head to the side. Angry tears were glistening in her eyes. "I deserved that." He mumbled while rubbing his sore cheek.

"All this time! Where have you been? Why did you leave without saying goodbye? Did I mean so little to you?"

"Mallory…" He went to place his hands on her arms but she backed away, still angry.

He sighed and put his hands down. "I was around but I couldn't risk it."

"Stop being cryptic! Just say it! I deserve the truth!"

"You do and that's what I'm here to tell you." He turned away, it was his turn to look out over the city. "It was too dangerous for me to stay with you. There are rules that I needed to follow, even though I'm no longer apart of that life… I went to my old guild and to the new leader, let him know that I was back but had no intention of returning to the guild and taking back the mantel as leader. He didn't believe me and tried to have me killed. I was planning on just going and coming back. You wouldn't even have known I was gone but he threated to kill everyone that I cared about. I couldn't let him know about you. So it took time but I handled the situation and it's no longer a problem anymore."

"When you say handled…"

"He's dead. A good friend is in charge of the Brotherhood of the Blade now. He won't bother me with that life anymore."

"All this time and you couldn't tell me you were okay? You didn't trust me to be able to take care of myself."

"I couldn't risk it Mal. I know you to well. You would've involved yourself. The others would have too. You've all been through enough. Besides, I was always looking out for you. I was always close." He smiled sadly.

"How?"

His smiled looked tired and stranded, the time away from her had worn at him. "I would visit you at night when you slept. When I knew it was safe to be near you."

Mallory gasped, she had thought those were dreams! "Duke… You can't just disappear like that and expect me to be waiting for you! I had to try and move on! We all did! Everyone was hurt by your disappearance. What will they say when they find out you're back?"

"Nosedive will probably hug me, Grin will welcome me, Tanya will yell at me, and Wildwing might punch me but in the end they are like family, so they will be happy I'm back. I know I hurt a lot of people, Mal. I have a lot to make up for."

"YOUR DAMN RIGHT YOU DO!" She yelled. He turned to look at her surprised by her very loud outburst. "You should have told us. We don't care that you had past issues. We're at team! We help each other no matter what! That's what being a part of a team is about! We're all family! You should have trusted us and understood that."

"Mallory-"

"Don't! I don't want to hear-" He placed his finger on her beak to silence her but she slapped his hand away. "Don't you-"

He did it again. "Please let me finis-" She didn't let him finish, instead she used her martial arts to toss him over her shoulder. Being the skilled acrobat that he was, he landed on his feet and skidded to a stop not far from her. Duke wasn't surprised that she had thrown him, that was his girl, feisty as ever. He smirked at her and Mallory blushed realizing that he figured she would do that. "I'm glad to see you haven't changed." He lifted his hand revealing the blue hair pin that should have been on her head. Mallory gasped and her hand went to where it had been, finding that it was of course not there.

"Still skilled at stealing things I see. You sure you don't plan to pick up that life style again." She wanted to hurt him like he had hurt her. I didn't work, he smirked instead.

"The only thing I plan to steal is you."

She could feel her face heating up even more, she must have looked like a fresh picked tomato. "We-well I'm not something that you can steal. Now give me my pin back." She held her hand out.

"No."

"Duke I mean it."

"You want it. Come get it." He run across the roof and started making his way over the buildings.

"I need that for the wedding!" Mallory threw off her shoes and gave chase. She couldn't not have that in her hair, Victoria picked it out specially for each bridesmaid. "L'Orange I'm going to kill you!"

"You have to catch me first Sweetheart." He laughed, leading her on a chase over the roof tops. Duke let Mallory catch up to him, when he felt they were far enough.

She was in front of him in an instant. "Give me that back!" She yelled reaching for it but he held it just out of her reach, making her jump up and down to try and grab it from him.

"I'll give it back but first I want your answer."

"What answer?"

"Have you moved on?" He said, switching over from joking around to completely serious.

Mallory stopped trying to grab the hair pin and sighed in defeat. "I don't know."

"Yes you do. The truth. Please."

She wrapped her arms around herself in a hug. "No." The admission was quiet and a single tear escaped her eye. She turned away quickly to wipe it before it ruined her makeup. While she was keeping her makeup from running, Duke moved forward with the stealth of a cat and gently placed the pin back in her hair. She looked up at him surprised.

"Good, cause I never once stopped thinking about you." He took her chin in his fingers and led her beak up to his in a sweet gentle kiss. Mallory melted into it, closing her eyes and savoring his touch. She had missed him so much that she didn't care she had been so angry a moment ago. Her hands went around his neck of their own accord as she embraced him. He left because he wanted to keep her safe, because he did care for her.

Relief rush through his body. Finally, he was with her again. They could be together safe and sound from his past. He broke the kiss and smiled down at her. "I'll be waiting at your apartment." He kissed her again, giving sweet gentle pecks.

A watery but beautiful smile graced her face. "You better be."

He laughed and picked her up bridal style, carrying her back over to the rooftop they had originally been on. "Ditch the dork. I don't like him." Mallory laughed as set her down. Walking over to her shoes he picked them up and placed them back on her dainty feet, his attentiveness to her was always something she found sweet. Standing up he gave her one last kiss. "Don't keep me waiting. I love you." With that he used his grapple hook in his wrist com to swing down to the streets and disappear into the crowd, heading in the direction of her apartment.

"I wouldn't keep you waiting for anything. I love you too much for that L'Orange." Her heart fluttered. Looking at her watch she saw it was almost time to start! She had to hurry up and get down there. She had a wedding to get through, a guy to dump, and a handsome drake waiting at home for her.


End file.
